JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 18, 2013) – The ETSU men’s tennis and men’s soccer teams took a break from the rigors of collegiate training Tuesday afternoon to participate in training of a different sort. In a collaborative effort, the two teams held the first ever “10-S-4 Kix” (Tennis for Kicks) community outreach event, welcoming a team from the Johnson City Parks & Recreational soccer league to the ETSU campus.

Eight and nine-year-old soccer players of the Lake Ridge Lightning were given the opportunity to get hands-on instruction from ETSU men’s soccer players and play in a friendly pick-up game against members of the 2013 Atlantic Sun Champion ETSU men’s tennis team.

“It’s not only about the game,” ETSU head men’s tennis coach Yaser Zaatini said. “It is about reaching, sharing, and encouraging these future men.”

Featuring a large contingency of players from soccer-playing countries such as Brazil, Spain, and Argentina, the men’s tennis team enjoyed the opportunity to teach young players about the game of soccer, however the young soccer hopefuls in attendance enjoyed the experience even more.

“Yaser came to me with the idea and asked if we could do it,” Lake Ridge Lightning head coach Spencer Brasfield said. “I said, ‘Are you kidding me? The kids would love it!’ And you can see that they are enjoying it. They can hardly quit yelling.”

Zaatini was pleased with the inaugural event and looks forward to future opportunities to have a positive impact on children of the Johnson City community.

“These are brilliant children with dreams,” Zaatini said. “I just want to make sure they know they can make it. Nothing is more rewarding than helping a young man become happy and successful.”

FOLLOW THE BUCS

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!